Advice - Trying to help friend with suspended license

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to help my friend's DH. They live in Virginia but they're not local. From what I can gather, the license was suspended for failing to pay tickets and fines. He's got a job but isn't making much money. She just had a baby, so she's not working at the moment. He got pulled over recently and has to go to court for driving with a suspended license.

They're just barely keeping up with the bills as it is. Unfortunately, I'm not in the position to help pay the fines (which seems to be a lot like in the thousands... I didn't get a specific number) so I'm trying to help in other ways. Neither can get loans. He has no credit cards and no credit history. She has too much revolving debt to get a loan. I'm pretty sure her credit cards have small limits and are close to being maxed out.

From what I've researched, he can try to request a restricted license so he can drive to work(???). For those that have experience with this, is it something he can do himself? Also, does the DMV offer payment plans or reductions or waivers for the past due fines? I would appreciate any advice or resources in this matter.

Oh, and for those that want to judge the situation, please don't. The DH is a great guy. He's just had some bad luck with jobs (companies going out of business and being stiffed on pay, ect) and sucks at handling money and probably has undiagnosed ADD. He has a job and is looking for a 2nd job, but the not being able to drive is hampering him. As for my friend, a few months ago she was hired for a great job with decent benefits but then her department was cut after she'd only been there for two weeks. So it's sucky situation all around.

Any advice I can pass along would be great.

[Anonymous]

There's a lot your friend isn't telling you so don't be so quick to save them. There is a complete policy/program on this in every state when someone simply can't afford the fines. All he had to do was show up in court and prove his financial situation to the judge. There are thousands of people like him in the same situation only they confronted the issue instead of pretending it would go away.

You sound like a nice friend but some people need to hit rock bottom before they realize how screwed up they are. He also sounds like a dangerous driver that maybe shouldn't have a license anyway. His driving record is worse then you think.

[Anonymous]

+1 People like this guy risk killing or injuring innocent people by his crappy driving. Do you not listen to the news everyday?

[Anonymous]

I tend to agree, he's better off not driving for the sake of everyone else. And no, the rest of us don't get tickets like this other guy so don't pretend he's just some unlucky person that was caught.

[Anonymous]

He should go to court and explain the situation to the judge. DH's license was suspended because he forgot to pay a ticket, and he was pulled over in VA. The judge threw out the charge for driving without a license once he showed the ticket had been paid.

Not sure what they can do about the fines if he can't pay. I believe VA has a deferred payment agreement, but that is usually arranged before the license is suspended. They are probably in collections by now so perhaps he can negotiate with the collections agency.

[Anonymous]

If the woman isn't working can't she drive him ? He should make an effort to get any 2nd and third job he can . Flipping burgers, Walmart, Costco, gas station, steam cleaning carpet. If he worked 100 hours a week that money would add up and he could pay off his fines.

[Anonymous]

Go look up his name on both the traffic and circuit courts website for the county they live in. Come back when you've found the DUI.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go look up his name on both the traffic and circuit courts website for the county they live in. Come back when you've found the DUI.

+1. Be sure to not just check VA public records. Sound like VA arrested him for an outstanding warrant from maybe another jurisdiction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go look up his name on both the traffic and circuit courts website for the county they live in. Come back when you've found the DUI.

+1. Be sure to not just check VA public records. Sound like VA arrested him for an outstanding warrant from maybe another jurisdiction and/ maybe from VA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go look up his name on both the traffic and circuit courts website for the county they live in. Come back when you've found the DUI.

I would generally agree, but as a lawyer I can tell you that Virginia laws are EXTREMELY strict - DUI or not. If this were Maryland, I would completely agree. But it doesn't take all that much to lose your license in Virginia. Going 50 in a 25 (I know, not safe but we could all see this in the realm of possibility) can result in a loss of license because its double the speed limit - which Virginia terms an "intent to kill."

Not saying you should help this guy at all, just saying that Virginia is strict!

[Anonymous]

My husband had his license restricted for six months for reckless driving. He was allowed to drive to work, but not the rest of the time.

He did have a lawyer, and he took the driving classes before his court date.

[Anonymous]

We recently moved back to this area, and dh and I discovered VA had suspended both our licenses. We had moved and registered the car in another state and apparently did not properly inform VA, so they suspended our licenses for not maintaining car insurance (for the record, the car was insured the whole time, in the state we were living in!). We had to pay a fine to get our licenses reinstated.

I had a DL in the other state so my only issue was the fine, but dh had not changed his, so it would have been a big deal if he had been pulled over while this was going on. I can easily see how this could snowball on someone already on a financial edge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the woman isn't working can't she drive him ? He should make an effort to get any 2nd and third job he can . Flipping burgers, Walmart, Costco, gas station, steam cleaning carpet. If he worked 100 hours a week that money would add up and he could pay off his fines.

Agree with this, she can drive him to and from work if she's not working.

[Anonymous]

OP,

The husband can get a ride to a DMV retail location and ask for a compliance summary. The compliance summary will give him a blueprint for what needs to happen in order to reinstate his privilege to drive. If he has fines and costs to pay in Virginia, he should be able to set up payment plans with each court where owes money. The clerk's office in each jurisdiction will give him paperwork to take back to the DMV to authorize the issuance of his license.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot your friend isn't telling you so don't be so quick to save them. There is a complete policy/program on this in every state when someone simply can't afford the fines. All he had to do was show up in court and prove his financial situation to the judge. There are thousands of people like him in the same situation only they confronted the issue instead of pretending it would go away.

You sound like a nice friend but some people need to hit rock bottom before they realize how screwed up they are. He also sounds like a dangerous driver that maybe shouldn't have a license anyway. His driving record is worse then you think.

OP here. I'm not a naive person, so I have my firm limits in place and this is the issue I'm going to focus on. And I'm sure there's more to the story.

Anonymous wrote:He should go to court and explain the situation to the judge. DH's license was suspended because he forgot to pay a ticket, and he was pulled over in VA. The judge threw out the charge for driving without a license once he showed the ticket had been paid.

Not sure what they can do about the fines if he can't pay. I believe VA has a deferred payment agreement, but that is usually arranged before the license is suspended. They are probably in collections by now so perhaps he can negotiate with the collections agency.

That's what I was thinking, but I wasn't sure since it was the DMV.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the woman isn't working can't she drive him ? He should make an effort to get any 2nd and third job he can . Flipping burgers, Walmart, Costco, gas station, steam cleaning carpet. If he worked 100 hours a week that money would add up and he could pay off his fines.

Agree with this, she can drive him to and from work if she's not working.

She does normally. But he works a late shift and usually gets done about 3:00 am. So with the new (a few weeks) baby, it's kind of understandable why he chose to drive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go look up his name on both the traffic and circuit courts website for the county they live in. Come back when you've found the DUI.

+1. Be sure to not just check VA public records. Sound like VA arrested him for an outstanding warrant from maybe another jurisdiction.

I'll look into it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go look up his name on both the traffic and circuit courts website for the county they live in. Come back when you've found the DUI.

I would generally agree, but as a lawyer I can tell you that Virginia laws are EXTREMELY strict - DUI or not. If this were Maryland, I would completely agree. But it doesn't take all that much to lose your license in Virginia. Going 50 in a 25 (I know, not safe but we could all see this in the realm of possibility) can result in a loss of license because its double the speed limit - which Virginia terms an "intent to kill."

Not saying you should help this guy at all, just saying that Virginia is strict!

Yes, I know. I've read lots of stuff about that here. That's why I'm focusing on this issue.

Anonymous wrote:We recently moved back to this area, and dh and I discovered VA had suspended both our licenses. We had moved and registered the car in another state and apparently did not properly inform VA, so they suspended our licenses for not maintaining car insurance (for the record, the car was insured the whole time, in the state we were living in!). We had to pay a fine to get our licenses reinstated.

I had a DL in the other state so my only issue was the fine, but dh had not changed his, so it would have been a big deal if he had been pulled over while this was going on. I can easily see how this could snowball on someone already on a financial edge.

Yep. And I've been on the edge before. It sucks. And even if someone can only give advice, it's still helpful.

Anonymous wrote:OP,

The husband can get a ride to a DMV retail location and ask for a compliance summary. The compliance summary will give him a blueprint for what needs to happen in order to reinstate his privilege to drive. If he has fines and costs to pay in Virginia, he should be able to set up payment plans with each court where owes money. The clerk's office in each jurisdiction will give him paperwork to take back to the DMV to authorize the issuance of his license.

Awesome. Thanks.